Uneasy Punch puts its faith in happy Brits hitting the pub
Punch Taverns boss Roger Whiteside is pinning his hopes on "feel good factors" next year bringing drinkers into his pubs.
He cites the Olympics and next summer's Euro 2012 football championships as events that will boost beer sales.
The freelance landlords that lease and run Punch's 5000 pubs could do with the help - publicans say that running a profitable boozer has never been harder.
Whiteside wants to sell 2000 of the underperforming pubs, leaving a core estate of 3000. That process will take four to five years, he reckons.
He says local entreprenuers are the most likely buyers of the pubs he doesn't want. They often turn the buildings into flats.
Today Whiteside reported profit for the year to August 20 of £76 million, down from £90 million last time.
The beleagured shares moved up 0.07p to 9.72p, valuing the business at £62.5 million. That equity compares to debts of £2.4 billion.
"We know that is too much," concedes Whiteside.
